March 11, 2005
Lew Philip first Inuk warden at BCC
Experienced officer has handcuffed one-third of BCC inmates
GREG YOUNGER-LEWIS
Lew Philip worked in Nanisivik, Iqaluit, Pond Inlet and Igloolik as a police officer before taking the senior position at Nunavut’s only prison. (PHOTO BY GREG YOUNGER-LEWIS)
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Nunavut’s newest prison warden is the first Inuk in the job, and he promises to bring a more traditional approach to setting inmates on the path to rehabilitation.
Lew Philip, a well-known elder and retired RCMP officer, said he’s committed to ensuring that Baffin Correctional Centre provides new programs for its Inuit inmates by the spring.
He said the new programs, ranging from counselling on the land to therapy for sex offenders, will increase the contact inmates have with other Inuit, especially elders.
“My experience in life is with the Inuit people,” Philip said in an interview this week. “I’m not trying to push Qallunaat out. But I would personally like to see more Inuit involvement with inmates.”
Philip, 57, became warden at Nunavut’s only prison in late January, after spending several months there as a counsellor. He replaces Andrea Smith, who moved to another job with the government of Nunavut.
According to Philip, the inmates welcomed him to the prison like a long-lost friend.
“Some of the inmates were crying,” Philip recalled. “They were so happy to see me.”
Philip said his strong, positive connection with prisoners comes from his long career as a police officer. He estimates he’s placed handcuffs on one-third of the 85 inmates at BCC.
But Philip took extra time with the men, even before he was their warden.
“They respect me a lot,” he said. “In my service as a peace officer, I didn’t just push them around. I tried to help them.”
As a police officer for 27 years in four Nunavut communities, Philip found criminals were mostly men in their early 20s. They seemed “lost,” left without much sense of their identity as Inuit.
Philip said inmates at BCC will find more guidance through Inuit Qaujimajatunqangit (Inuit traditional knowledge).
“What I would like to see from inmates is they recognize who they are as Inuit,” he said.
According to Philip, inmates will soon travel on the land with elders to work on what he calls “spiritual healing,” aimed at bringing the men to terms with their addictions or past abuse.
The new program will add to land activities that the prison conducts with inmates and two local hunters year-round. Previous land trips focused on learning how to track animals, catch and skin them, and eventually distribute the meat to the community.
Philip is also lobbying to bring a specialized counselling program for sex offenders to the prison. In the next few months, Philip expects to host a counsellor from the Tupiq Program.
Until now, the program for Inuit sex offenders was only available at Fenbrook Correctional Centre in Gravenhurst, Ont., where most Inuit federal offenders serve their sentences.
But inmates can expect even more from Philip.
Now, they can all speak to the prison boss in their first language, English or Inuktitut.
“People like to speak their own tongue,” he said.
They can also take counselling in either language with their new elder, former Anglican bishop Paul Idlout.
Philip said he’s aiming to start Inuktitut courses in the prison, and hire two more Inuktitut-speaking counsellors to add to his staff, likely as casuals.
His current staff consists of 55 prison guards, program facilitators, and administration. About 15 are Inuit.
Philip plans to tackle outstanding racial tensions between staff and inmates with a policy of mutual respect. He said all staff and all inmates will be treated the same, whether Inuit or not.
Philip expects his changes will make the prison more pleasant, with a better record of reforming inmates.
“These people have personal problems,” Philip said. “That’s why they keep coming here. We need to find solutions to their problems.”
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